Pathway to Destruction
by starrose2012
Summary: Dark Link's lingering presence after the defeat of Evil King Ganon continues to haunt Link. Unable to understand why he keeps having these nightmares, Link goes to Zelda for help, only to find that Dark is an evil only he can beat.
1. Ch 1: Nightmares

Chapter 1: Nightmares

_Link._

The wind howled that night. It howled so loudly that Link almost missed the sounds that the voice made in the air. It howled so loudly that Link almost saved himself from the stresses of the voice that made sounds in the air. In fact, it howled so loudly that Link's howls of anguish and fear, seemed like whispers.

_Link…Link._

Nightmares were nothing new to the newly accomplished Hero of Light. Now, having vanquished the great evil that had been the Demon King Ganondorf, Link had thought or rather, had hoped, that the nightmares would end. Unfortunately, the nightmares did not end, in fact, they only seemed to worsen.

_Link, Link…wakeup, Hero._

Link sprung from his bed. His blue eyes flashing in the fluttering of moonlight that skimmed the room through the glass of his window in Hyrule Castle, Link shook his head lightly. Sweat trickled down the bridge of the Hero's nose, and he breathed shakily. One hand, forever marked with the brand of courage, wiped the nightmare's residue from his forehead.

Having felt his heart rate slow back to average, Link swung his bare legs down to the floor. The hard skin of his feet tensed slightly from the ripple of chill sent through them by the cold stone.

"I could have sworn there was a carpet there." Link mumbled to himself as he stood up. Hardly a tall Hylian, Link nevertheless appeared much taller when he stood. The elusiveness of his height was due to a crucial aspect of Link's persona, his role as the Hero of Time. Link moved from his bed to the elegantly carved washbasin and mirror at the vast room's corner. Link's signature color jerkin lay thrown over one of the chairs of velvety purple off center of the room. Link wore instead a thin white sleep tunic, which had been embroidered with the golden letterings that stood for "Hero" and "Time."

Link poured a bit of water into the basin, and grabbed the towel from the nearby hook. He splashed the water up into his face, feeling its cool touch absorb into his fair skin. He rubbed the towel across his face and neck, its soft touch relaxing the tension from his neck and shoulders as he continued to try to forget the nightmare.

_Ah, Link,…you can't forget me can you? My little Hero._

Link dropped the towel and grabbed the side of the washbasin, he heard the pitcher hit the floor and shatter at his feet. But he couldn't look to see, no all he could do was stare, almost dumbstruck at what stared back at him, two red eyes.

"Dark—" Link began.

"It's been a while, Hero. Miss me?" Dark Link, his eyes brightening and darkening gradually as they always did, gave Link his usual superior smirk.

"When? How did you?"

"Oh, don't get your Hero's leggings in a twist, I'm not _really_ there. No, _you_ made sure of that." Dark Link's eyes narrowed almost unnoticeably slightly, just enough to express his frustration and anger. Not that Link needed to see Dark's expressions to understand them. He could, as Dark could with Link's, feel them inside of himself. Link felt rather than saw Dark Link's anger rising, and the physical effects of the emotions reflected on Link's face until he responded and once again reflected himself.

"You got what you deserved. It's your own fault, for allying yourself with Ganon." Link leaned in closer to his reflection. Dark Link appeared as if the negative of film in a camera. His eyes were red. They held no markings or irises, they were simply red, the only life exhibited in their constant darkening and lightening. His face was steely white, like Link's, it mirrored his slender nose and subtle lips, although Dark's were almost always upturned in a smirk. Dark's hair was silver, as if reflecting all light that it encountered, as if no light at all could exist within Dark. Finally he wore all black, his tunic tight around his slender frame, and his dark cap sliding slightly back away to expose his pointy Hylaian ears and his silvery bangs.

"Is that the excuse you've been using Hero? _I_ did it to _myself_? Ganon did it to himself? It wasn't right for him, for _me_, to want something other than everlasting nothing? We weren't _right _to want to expand? To move past what was our lot in life? We should _have been happy_ with the nothing handed to us? Now Hero, I think _you're_ being a bit unkind."

"Don't try to twist my words Dark. It won't work," _again_, Link added silently, but Dark's ears pricked up, signaling he'd heard Link's thought.

"Oh no? Then why am I here then Hero?"

"I have no idea." Link pulled back from Dark's erstwhile smirk and crossed his arms. "You tell me."

"No Hero, _you_ tell _me_." Dark leaned in, so close that he looked as if he might pass right through the glass, so close that his red lights of eyes were sending little red ripples in the water that still sat in the basin. He was so close, that Link could feel the edges of his mouth turn upwards as Dark's did, unnoticeably slightly.

"I suppose, the Nightmares."

"Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!" Dark pasted one black gloved finger into the air, his outstretched arm not even seeming to move, and Link suddenly realized that he himself was raising his arm, fair skin exposed as the thin and voluminous sleeves of the tunic fell back towards his shoulder. "And they say you can't teach an old Dodongo new tricks, look at you Hero, impressing me all the time."

"Shut up Dark." Link almost growled at his reflection as he lowered his arm.

"Tsk,Tsk!" Dark wagged his finger at his Light side, "Temper, temper! Don't want me to come out do you?" Link ignored the comment.

"How do my Nightmares have to do with you?" Link leaned in, as his Dark Side pulled back from the mirror, like a reflection-balance in a seesaw.

"You're afraid. You're uncertain, something is troubling that fair-haired head of yours. And it's reflecting itself in your semi-conscious, in your sleep." Dark closed one red eye and peered at Link from the other judgingly, "It would seem that you feel unbalanced."

"Don't twist my thoughts either Dark. I'm _not_ letting you out of there." Link forced himself to turn away from his other half. He felt the tie to his dark side begin to slacken, as if his refusal to look at Dark had effectively ended their bond, but he knew better than to believe that the bond was truly gone, only temporarily disconnected.

"Believe what you want to Hero. I only told you what you wanted to know, what you _already_ know."

Link gave Dark one last look as his Negative half began to fade back into the Night. "And what's that?"

"That Dark can exist without Light, but Light needs Dark to define itself. In other words, _Hero_, you need _me_, more than I need _you_." Dark's face began to sink now, leaving his eyes glittering in a mask of smokey gloom.

"You're lying." Link replied, but he only half-believed it himself.

"Am I? Well I guess we'll see won't we? Until next time," Dark faded back into the darkness, and Link once again saw his own fair skin and bright Blue eyes looking back at him from over his shoulder.

_Oh yes, and one more thing Hero, what _are _you wearing anyway? You look like a girl._

Link grabbed a piece of the pitcher and threw it at the mirror. As he heard the tinkling crack of the mirror splitting itself apart he mumbled under his breath, "I hate you."

_I know._


	2. Ch 2: Betwixt and Befuddle

Chapter 2: Betwixt and Befuddle

"Amazing! Simply Amazing!" Palace First Sergeant Reynolds applauded the direct hit as Link lowered his bow. The target, now little more than smolders and ashy remains, had been nearly 80 yards away, a feat of nothing for the Hero of Time, a feat of amazing odds for the onlookers.

"It burst into flames! Did ya see that? Did ya?" Reynolds was referring to his fellow guards, who seemed to have found a lot more time in the day to watch Link practice rather than guard the grounds of Hyrule Castle. But then again, when all the evil has been vanquished from the world, there's not much reason to guard anything.

Link gave Reynolds a smile that was somewhere between embarrassment and pleasure. Link loved to be seen as a Hero. Nothing pleased him more than to walk through the streets of Castle Town in his fancy green tunic and his leather boots, the Master Sword and Hylian Shield strapped tight to his back. He knew he shouldn't engage in as much pride and self-satisfaction as he did, but it wasn't something he did often, and it was certainly something he deserved.

"He smiled at me!" Reynolds said, his chest puffing up with his own pride at having been acknowledged by the great Hero of Time.

"'E wasn't lookin' at you, ya twit!" The voice was a bit raspy but obviously female, and as Link watched, a rather rotund middling-height woman elbowed her way closer to the front of the crowd. "'E was tryin' to smile at me!" She turned to give Link what she obviously thought was a seductive smile, "Weren't ya 'oney?"

"Ummm…well, ma'am I…" Link blushed slightly, unable to find the right words to politely tell the woman no, as the crowd of onlookers began to laugh silently at the poor Hero's dilemma. Reynolds seemed caught somewhere between being annoyed at being interrupted and brushed aside, and pleasure at the woman's obvious misreading of the situation. Link gave him a sympathetic stare as he suddenly heard a very familiar voice pipe up.

"Link isn't interested in you, you big cow!" Navi, her little fairy fists on her little fairy hips squeaked angrily. She flew right into the woman's startled face and said, "Link is mine! Stay away from him!" Navi's little feet gave a swift kick and the lady found herself under attack from a tiny barrage of fairy insults and assaults.

"Navi stop it!" Link said loudly, as the crowd began to laugh openly at the poor woman. "That's enough!"

Navi gave one last swift kick before flying back over to Link and landing on his shoulder. She gave the woman one last nasty look before disappearing into Link's hat. Link just rolled his eyes.

"Nasty thing!" The woman cried before heading back to her job in the kitchens. Seeing that the fun was over the crowd began to disperse, with most of them giving Link praise for his fairy's "fire."

Link sighed in acceptance of their remarks, and waited until they'd all dispersed before walking over to a bucket of water to use to put out the small fire that was the shooting target mere minutes ago.

_Your fairy sure seems overly energetic today._

Link almost dropped the bucket as he felt Dark's words slam into him like an arrowhead in his brain. The water sloshed as the bucket swung, but Link steadied himself in an attempt to prevent losing the necessary water.

_Course, her fire is _nothing_ compared to yours._

Link could taste the smirk in that last comment and he braced himself as he sat on the grassy area nearby the dirt stretch where the targets were lined up. Because the targets were set up on dirt and not grass, there was no real urgency to put out the fire, but it still only meant that he could spare little time for his other half. Link leaned his face over the bucket to see those deep red eyes glistening back at him.

"I wasn't having a nightmare you know, there's no reason for you to be here." Link half-growled at Dark, as he watched the silky shadow's face form itself in the bucket's circling depths, turning the gleaming water murky.

"Avarice is a sin." Dark brought up one ungloved silvery hand, and studied his nails as if bored, "A boring sin, but a sin nonetheless. The goddesses and the sages would not be pleased, not to mention that dull princess of yours."

"So what you're saying is you're bothering me because I felt a twinge of pride?"

"A twinge here, a trifle there, they add up you know. You think it's alright to do it _just this once_, but before you know it," Dark made a motion indicating a slide, "It's like a Goron on a steep slope, nothing but downhill."

"What are you? My fairy conscious?"

"Not nearly, I'm more of a trapped prisoner that's being bored to death, so he starts poking his guard. Which reminds me." Dark gave his Light side a nasty sneer, "Poke, poke."

"What are you_—_" Link didn't finish though, because suddenly the small fire from the former target exploded into full flames. Link jumped up, accidentally knocking over the bucket of water in his haste. He felt the tie to his dark side sever as if it had been cut, and his eyes danced bright red before they faded back to crystal blue.

Link heard the sounds of "Fire in the Courtyard! Fire in the Courtyard" echoing about him, but he wasn't wasting time on the servants and guards as they hastened to locate enough water to douse the flames. Link reached for his bow with a hand already outstretched, and strung it with one of his precious ice arrows; he took aim swiftly and was just about to freeze the flames when he felt a hand on his.

_Wait._

"Wait." Link felt his mouth move involuntarily. Link stood poised, fingers locked in position, bow taut, eyes gleaming with a will, a desire, to fire the arrow of ice into the flames, but he stood still.

_Let's wait. _

"Let's…wait?" Link felt the ghostly fingers on his hands tighten their grip, "We can't, the fire, we can't wait."

_It's only a fire. One fire won't hurt anything. There were fires before you came along Hero, there'll be fires after you're gone, I'm sure these people can handle it. So, let's wait._

Link felt the hands push down on his arms, lowering them, relaxing them. His muscles grew heavy and slack, and he felt his eyes darken, or maybe it was his vision, he couldn't be sure anymore. Everything seemed dark all of a sudden. Everything except his skin, that seemed…paler.

_Stop thinking so much. It's time to rest. Aren't you tired? You should wait, wait and rest._

"Link!" Navi's shrill squeak shattered Link's dulled sense of reality and Link looked up as if waking from a dream. "Link! What are you doing sleeping? The Fire! The Fire!"

Link blinked, and suddenly time came slamming back at him all at once. He hadn't realized it before, but on returning, he found himself unable to place his time or location, and he felt Light rush in all around him. Suddenly there were voices ringing everywhere in his ears, and the fire's flames sent heat waves rocking back at him. Link quickly readied his bow, and fired the arrow straight into the center of the fire. The magic worked almost instantaneously, and the world slowed back to its regular pulse as the flames became nothing more than steamy blocks of ice.

"You did it Link! You did it!" Navi buzzed happily around Link's head, clapping her little hands energetically.

_For once that annoying little fairy's right Hero, _you did it.

"I…did?"


	3. Ch 3: Shades of Steel

Chapter 3: Shades of Steel

"I can't seem to sleep." Link toyed with his gloved hands inside his lap, he wore a simple green jerkin and brown pants instead of his usual Hero's garb. There was no need for decorum and ostentation today, an informal meeting with Princess Zelda was for their eyes and ears alone.

"You seem worried. Is it a new evil do you think?" Zelda leaned forward in the velvet covered wooden chair opposite Link's. They sat in her private chambers, uninterrupted for the moment by palace life. Zelda placed one slender pristine-gloved hand on Link's knee, "Perhaps I should investigate."

"It's not a new evil it's…" Link trailed off, his deep blue eyes reflecting the light torment of trying to decide between telling Zelda the truth and preventing her from suspecting him. Even though Link knew that there was no way that Zelda would ever judge him in such a way, he couldn't shake the nagging fear that she _might._ "I've been having…nightmares."

"Nightmares?" Zelda sat up, a hint of surprise weaving its way into her voice, "What kinds of nightmares?"

"They're…they're not so much visions as they are…nothing. Almost as if…" _almost as if they were allowing me to see through Dark's eyes._ Link finished mentally. "I just need them to go away, you know?"

Zelda frowned as Link peered up at her from between his fair hair, bright eyes pleading. "I don't know if that is wise." Zelda turned her gaze outside where a steady rain was currently falling; it had been raining for two days straight. Zelda had barely noticed it, until now. Suddenly that lightly flowing rain seemed important.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, nightmares are usually notions presented to you by your sub-conscious. They reflect your fears, your doubts, your frustrations and your perceptive mistakes. If I were to completely eliminate your nightmares, well that would drive a wedge in-between those thoughts and you, causing your balance to be dangerously upset, even damaged. Such a result could be…fatal." Zelda returned her gaze to the young Hero of Time and her great friend, as his gaze dropped in disappointment.

"So if you can't simply wipe them away, then what do you suggest I do to solve my problem?" Link asked quietly as he continued to stare at the floor. Zelda gave Link a small but warm smile and lifted his chin tenderly with her right hand until Link's eyes were burrowing into her own.

"For now? I say try to ignore them. Think good thoughts before you sleep, don't eat any lat night snacks, and I'm sure they will fade with time. They are, after all, only dreams, just darker ones."

00000000000000000000000000

Link left Zelda's private chambers feeling even worse than when he'd entered. He should have just told her about Dark, why hadn't he? What had stopped him? It's not like he had anything to hide, Zelda was well aware of the Negative twin that had been banished to the Realm of Nothing. She'd sent him herself.

Link proceeded down the long upper west wing hall solemnly. He barely noticed the hustling servants as they ran past him, some carrying large trays, others large boxes. Link's attention was on his own gloomy thoughts; it seemed he'd had a lot of those lately.

_Link._

Link froze. He felt the word tickle his left ear; it slid silkily around his lobe and settled in his brain. His pulse slowed slightly.

_Link…Link_

"No." Link thought, "Not again." Link took off down the hall, dodging servants, guards, and furniture. He heard shouts of surprise and anger, and even heard the unmistakable crash of what was undoubtedly a priceless royal family heirloom becoming scrap pottery.

_What's your hurry Hero?_

Link rounded the corner at the end of the extremely long Hall, only to realize he'd made a mistake. He should have run the other way.

"Hello there, Hero, miss me?" Dark Link, fully formed and standing at full height stared back at Link from the borderless glass of Hyrule Castle's Hall of Mirrors. His red eyes flashed, their glow currently darkening. Link was rooted to the spot, unable to move even his mouth to respond to his Dark side.

"What's the problem Hero? Speechless?" Dark leaned in and Link found himself leaning back away, a reflection-balance in a seesaw. Dark came so close to the mirror that he looked like he was standing in the same room with Link. He even seemed like he was, his muscles were strong and tight, and his skin was unusually luminous, as if it weren't a mere reflection, but real skin. The border of his clothes seemed unnaturally detailed; they matched the silver of his hair, the only reflecting light that came from Dark. Link took a step back.

"H—how—"

"How did I do it? Simple! I waited for _you_ to do it for me." Dark's eyes began to lighten now, and he took another step forward as Link took one back.

"B—but…what about the Realm of Nothing?" Link felt his unarmed back hit the wall as Dark Link continued to saunter slowly towards him.

"Yes, that was a rather boring place. Well you know; I showed you." Dark was almost within arm's reach now, and Link found he was rooted to the floor again, ghostly hands gripping his skin tightly. "Although I'm not quite free yet, you see…" Dark trailed off as he outstretched a hand whose fingers fluttered lightly in the air just centimeters in front of Link's nose.

Link watched the fingers as they danced hypnotically in front of his face, fingers that shouldn't be there, fingers belonging to a criminal that should be unable to leave a realm that is incapable of time, thought, or location. Link watched as Dark's eyes continued to lighten, and he felt his eyes darken, or maybe it was his vision? He couldn't be completely sure…everything around him seemed to be darkening, everything except Dark Link, he could see him clearly.

"I'm not free yet, Hero. You see, I still need you to finish the job." Dark's voice faded in and out of Link's sub-conscious, the only part of him that seemed capable of thought and perception.

"I'm tired…" Link mumbled.

"Of course you are. Maybe you should rest." Dark's voice seemed lighter, almost as if it was really Link who…but Link stopped thinking that thought, it required too much energy. Link's eyes fluttered as he felt himself sliding down the wall, had they been closed? He hadn't noticed.

"Maybe just a small rest." Link responded to his other half as energetically as he could manage, which wasn't much. Link heard the sounds of feet running. He felt hands grab him around his shoulders, and he heard panic in the voices as they swam around his darkened brain. But he couldn't see them, no all he could see was endless, emotionless, nothing.

Link turned inside his mind, his vision stretching past the waves of nothing until he saw a figure. Link walked towards the figure, but each step seemed to take him farther away until he could barely even see the figure any more, hardly even tell that it's skin was steely white.


	4. Ch 4: Within,Without

Chapter 4: Within, Without

Link lay on his back, of that much he was certain. He could feel the muscles along his spine; he could feel the soft fabric of Hyrule Castle's plush four-poster beds, he could even feel a tiny bit of a breeze tickle his face.

_Link…it is time for you to awaken._

"No..." Link mumbled slightly, tossing against the voice that slid itself in and out of his ears subtly, "Not…again…"

_You have no reason to fear me Link; I am not the Dark._

"Li—liar." Link mumbled, he could see Dark's face as it swam to the surface just below his eyelids. There was that steely skin, softer than moonlight. There was that hair like strands of feathery silver, hidden almost completely by that cloud of nothing. There were those subtle lips, so much like his own, only colder and always upturned in that awful smirk. Then of course, there were those eyes. Those soulless red embers that bore right through him, past his exterior, past his mind, straight all the way through his soul, burning him.

_Link, you mustn't think on Dark, the more you dwell on him, the stronger his hold will become! You _must _awaken!_

Link watched as those eyes burned. He felt his body start to shake, and he could feel the burning, he could feel the heat inside of himself. He could feel them despite his inability to see them, the flames that licked at his mind, burning their way right through into his heart, his soul.

"No! Please, stop!" Link thrashed, and he felt his arm connect with skin, real skin. Suddenly he felt strong arms grasping him, not ghostly hands but real ones.

_Link! You have to fight him off! Do not let him corrupt your soul!_

Link watched, feeling the burning from his core as Dark's face began to change, to shift. A long slender crack slid it's way along the center of Dark's forehead, it rode the bridge of his nose, cut itself directly through his subtle lips, until it hit the base of his neck and disappeared into the nothingness. Link watched, feeling icy horror sink in where fire had been, as the steely flesh of Dark's face peeled itself apart, revealing…but no it couldn't be!

_LINK! I'm losing him! We must call on the great light! Hurry. _

"You—it can't—" Link began but he heard Dark answer him, and this time he knew it was him because he could feel the sides of his lips turn up ever so slightly as it did.

"_But it is Hero, it is."_

The face that had been exposed, shining out through the cracks left behind from where Dark's face had been, was his own. The face bore the same light hair, the same subtle lips and slender nose, only not the same eyes. No, the eyes weren't the cool blue he knew as his own, they were dark, and unnoticeably slightly, red.

_I am the bringer of the Dawn! I am the servant of Light! I am the servant of the Triforce! I am the wielder of the Light! I am the servant of the sacred three goddesses, Din, Farore, and Nayru! Be gone forces of Darkness! You have no power here! I am the bringer of the Dawn! I am the servant of the Light! I am the servant of the Triforce! I am the wielder of the Light! I am the servant of the three sacred goddesses, Din, Farore , and Nayru!_

"_They are trying to separate us Hero, are you going to let them?"_

Link turned and there was that figure again. Link could see that smirk, and he shuddered when he felt Dark outstretch his hand, his fingertips dancing just short of Link's cheek.

_Be gone forces of Darkness! You have no power here!_

"_Don't you want to stay here with me? We were finally making some progress."_

"L—leave me alone!" Link reached behind him for his sword, and suddenly he felt the familiar touch of his blade, though he was certain it hadn't been there before.

"_So that's a "no" then?"_

_I am the wielder of the Light! I am the servant of the three goddesses, Din, Farore, and Nayru! Be gone forces of Darkness! You have NO POWER HERE!_

Link felt his body blast backwards, he could see the darkness whip past him at an alarming speed. All his thoughts were torn from his mind, leaving him feeling weakened and empty.

"Link! Link!" that was a voice Link recognized; and he opened his eyes slightly as he saw Navi dance around in front of him worriedly. "Oh, Link! Thank the Great Deku Tree you're alright!"

"Na—vi? Wha—what?"

"You were being corrupted by darkness."

Link turned his gaze away from Navi and saw a woman standing to his right. Her eyes were teal, and her face bore the dark skin of the Gerudo tribeswomen. She wore robes signifying her as a sage's apprentice, a servant of the Temple of Light. Next to the sage's apprentice stood Princess Zelda in all her regal elegance, her deep eyes betraying the deep concern that her position forbid her to show. All around the rest of the room, which Link soon realized was his own, stood concerned servants and guards, two in particular who held him firmly in place on the bed.

"You may release him now, he is himself again." The sage's apprentice spoke quietly and firmly, and Link realized that it had been her voice that'd he'd heard in the darkness.

"Who are—" Link began to ask as he sat up slowly, but she cut him off.

"I am Hestial. I am a daughter of the desert tribe of Gerudo. I was called from my home in the desert to follow the ways of Light. I am a servant of the Temple of Light, and a follower of the sage of light. I had a vision that led me to you, and I am most certain, that had I not yielded to the call immediately, we would not be speaking right now, or ever."

Link looked down at his hands, his gloves had been removed, and he clenched his fist tightly as he thought of how best to put into words what he'd seen this time.

"Link! Why didn't you tell me it was Dark you were seeing in your nightmares?" Link spared a glance at Zelda, whose concern had been replaced with fiery anger. The servants and guards in the room backed out, aware that Zelda's mood swings were often both sudden and misdirected. "That seems like something I would think you would mention!"

"I—that is…" Link struggled to find the right words to relate how hard it was for him to tell her about Dark, how he'd _wanted_ to, but how he found himself_ unable_ to.

"It's highly irresponsible is what it is! You are the Hero of Time Link! You have to start acting less like a child, and more like an adult!"

"Link's not a child!" Navi piped up angrily. She zipped herself right up into Zelda's face and put her little fairy hands on her little fairy hips, "Maybe you should have used your infinite wisdom to notice there was something wrong sooner!"

Link put up a hand and opened his mouth to say something but he stopped when he saw that Hestial was still gazing at him silently. Link watched as those emotionless teal eyes bore through his own blue ones, searching him thoroughly. He could feel their light sliding in and out of his veins, in and out of his mind, his soul.

"Are you blaming _me_ for this?" Zelda nearly screeched back at Navi, raising one slender pristinely-gloved finger with which to poke the little ball of light threateningly.

"I am indeed!" Navi replied just as angrily.

"The darkness has poisoned you." Both Navi and Zelda were suddenly quiet as their attention was drawn back to Hestial, who stood still staring at Link emptily.

"Poisoned? Poisoned how?" concern for Link crept its way back into Zelda's voice as she turned her attention back to the Hero of Time, and her great friend.

"I am not sure how, only that I can sense the darkness still lingering here. He is swirling with it."

Link paled a bit at that thought. Dark was here?

"Are you certain? Is it of great concern?" Zelda moved closer until she was mere inches from the sage's apprentice, who she out-stretched by a mere two inches in height.

"For now, no. But I fear that if given time, Dark's hold will strengthen again, and Link will once again be corrupted by the forces of darkness."

"What should we do?" Zelda sat on the bed beside Link, taking his right hand in her own, their Trifoce brands glowing a bit at the connection.

"We will have to find a way to detach the hold Dark Link has placed on the Hero of Time, I will have to research it. I am not sure how it will be done."

"Research it?" Zelda frowned at Hestial, "Shouldn't we just be able to remove what it is Link carries that ties him to the darkness?"

"Normally it would be that simple, yes. But this is a particular case, for you see what ties Dark to the Hero of Time is no mere object," Link watched as Hestial turned her gaze from Zelda and back to him. He felt his heart quicken slightly because he knew what she was going to say before she said it, as he was sure the others did as well.

"No, what ties Dark to Link, is Link himself."

Link looked down at his right hand where it sat tightly locked within Zelda's, he watched the gleam of his mark of courage as it sparked, reflecting his inner determination. What's more, Link could here Dark's words from that first night he'd seen him again, and suddenly it made sense.

_Dark can exist without Light, but Light needs Dark to define itself. In other words Hero, you need _me_ more than I need _you."

Link knew he'd been lying. Dark needed him in order to return to this world.


	5. Ch 5: Requiem of Spirit

Chapter 5: Requiem of Spirit

"You must be careful when you sleep Link. Be careful that you do not dream too deeply, or else Dark will catch you in his grasp again." Link frowned up at the deep emerald green fabric of the four-poster bed where he lay, trying hard not to fall asleep for fear of the darkness that lingered within, just below the surface.

"Right, I'll just do that then." Link half-snarled at the ceiling as he thought back on what Hestial had told him right before she'd departed to the Palace's extensive library to locate a text to help her extract his Negative half.

Link turned over onto his side, curling his slender fingers around the hilt of his Master Sword which he'd slid under his pillows in the event that he suddenly found himself in need to attack. He doubted its necessity, but its reassurance was more than enough reason to keep its presence as nearby as possible. Link frowned some more into the side of his pillow, as he watched the moon shimmering through the vast glass of the room's window.

The moonlight was oddly cheery as it extended its silvery fingers through the window, their touch bent as the glass shifted them into odd shapes on the floor and across the walls. Link watched the moonlight for a few moments, a pleasant distraction from his negative thoughts. It was so relaxing to watch, maybe he could just lay his head down for a few moments? Surely that wouldn't be enough time for his sleep to deepen enough for Dark to tiptoe his shadowy way back into Link's sub-conscious.

"No!" Link jumpstarted himself by bolting upright, "I can't sleep, I musn't—" Link's voice trailed off as he stood up and walked over to the water basin where a fresh pitcher of chilled water sat. The remnants of the shattered mirror from the first night he'd seen Dark were as if they had never been. Link looked at himself in a brand new elegantly constructed mirror, and what he saw was worry and panic peering back at him. But, at least for now, no red eyes.

Link poured some of the chilly water into the basin and quickly splashed it on his face, sending little involuntary chills down his spine, "Cold!" Link grabbed for the towel on its hook and wiped his face dry.

_Speak softly. Tread lightly. Strike flawlessly. _

Link dropped the towel and felt the silky chill of Dark's presence saunter its way up his spine and wrap itself around his head. Link backed away from the water basin until the back of his legs hit the bed. How was it possible? He'd been awake!

_Speak softly. Tread lightly. Strike flawlessly._

"GO AWAY!" Link reached for his Master Sword, thinking to destroy the mirror and sever Dark's connection. But as he whipped around, blade in hand, he felt his sword collide with another with the unmistakable _CLANG_ of two elegantly crafted weapons coming in contact with each other. Link didn't have time to react, Dark was on top of him before he even knew he was there. Dark pinned him firmly to the bed, the sharp edge of his sword just pricking Link's skin enough to draw blood and send sheering flickers of pain to his brain.

"Ah, how I missed that sound." Dark smirked wildly at his captive half, his words ringing out with the unmistakably glee of someone who knew the winds were in their favor. Link squirmed under Dark's grip but stopped when he felt Dark's fingers on his lips, their touch colder than death.

"Sh, sh, sh." Dark said quietly as he leaned into his other half. "Demons, you are noisy."

"Then get _off_ me!" Link spat back at his Dark half, who seemed to be enjoying seeing the fluttering of distress in his opposite's eyes.

"Don't get too excited Hero, I only came here so we could finish what we started earlier, and for no other reason." Dark smirked even more wildly and wickedly with that comment, and Link felt his heart deaden as fear seeped its way at the edges of his conscious.

"Finish what exactly?" Link began to feel the now all too familiar effects of Dark's presence inside his mind. He felt his mind begin to cloud, his vision to darken, his thoughts slowed as he become quieter and stiller, sinking into that inevitable stretch of nothingness.

"Now, now, don't fall asleep on me Hero!" Dark smacked Link hard across the face, and Link let out a small yelp as the motion caused Dark Link's shadowy replica of the Master Sword to cut him across the chest where he'd moved it. Thank the goddesses he'd moved it, or else Link might be breathing through a decidedly large hole in his neck right now.

Dark climbed off his Light half and motioned at one of the velvet chairs that sat off-center of the vast room. The chair picked itself up, and drifted inches from the floor to where Dark stood, before setting itself down, allowing Dark to sit. Dark watched quietly as Link pried himself up into a sitting position, a small trickle of blood dampening the white of a section of his sleep tunic to a rosy red color.

_Speak softly. Tread lightly. Strike flawlessly._

Link looked up as the same three sentences trailed around his head. Dark just sat there in the velvet chair, steely fingertips pressed together in front of the lower part of his face, smirk still in place, eyes glinting.

_Speak softly. Tread lightly. Strike flawlessly._

"Answer the question Dark. Finish what exactly?" Link moved his hand to his right side, fingers reaching for his Master Sword. But suddenly he felt those ghostly hands grip his, preventing him from gripping the blade's hilt. _Damnit_.

"I already told you all you need to know Link. I'm not a news service. If you want to know more, you're just going to have to put forth a little bit of effort." Link made a motion indicating a small amount with his index finger and his thumb and smirked at the Hero of Time happily. Happy was not a good look for him, superior or smug surely, but not happy.

_Speak softly. Tread lightly. Strike flawlessly._

Link felt his throat tighten as he realized what the words were actually saying. It was a command. Dark wanted him to _kill_ someone.

"I won't do it!" Link made to reach for his sword with his other hand, but the dark hands grabbed his left arm now, pulling it back until it too was stuck to the bed. Link squirmed, feeling the pressure holding him down. "I won't kill innocent people!"

"Who says they're innocent?"

"You can't make me!"

"Who's making you?"

"I won't do it!"

"You won't?"

"No!"

"Pity."

Dark dropped his hands to his sides, the tips of his fingers wiggling slightly, and Link felt the pressure in his arms double. It felt as if someone had literally dropped all of Death Mountain onto his body at once, and he could feel his body physically breaking down, even though he knew and he couldn't be sure how he knew, but he did, that it was all in his head.

"GAH!" Link cried out as the full force of Dark's energy hit him in the chest sending him flying across the bed and into the bedroom's wall with a significant _THUD_!

"Do you really think you're in a position to disobey me Hero?" Link lifted his head to see Dark swiftly walk around the bed and grab him by the front of his tunic, lifting him up and slamming his body back into the wall again. Link let out another cry.

"I'm stronger than you Hero; do you want to know why? Because while you've been slacking off and playing footsies with the princess, I've been fighting tooth and nail to pull myself out of the lifeless hellhole you threw me in! You want to know why else Hero? I'll tell you. You're tired; weakened by your struggles at trying to be rid of my presence in your head, but guess what Hero?" Dark leaned in, his face darkening in a mixture between pleasure and malice, and all the while, he smirked. "I'm here to stay."

"So you better listen up, _Hero_." Dark dropped Link unceremoniously to the floor. Link hit the stone hard and he gave his dark side a glare as Dark turned away from him and returned to the velvet chair. He sat like a king on a throne, and he even crossed his legs nonchalantly as he waited for Link to pull himself to his feet. Once on his feet, Link opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the three sentences again.

_Speak softly. Tread lightly. Strike flawlessly._

''No." Link moved around the bed until he stood staring down at his other half angrily. This was the closest he'd ever been voluntarily to Dark, usually when one of the two halves approached the other, the opposite found himself pushed away. Almost as if the two halves could never truly connect, their opposite mental makeups acting like deterrents from each other.

'You're not _listening_." Dark smirked up at his light half, his fingers outstretched, wiggling themselves hypnotically as close to Link's face as they could manage from his position.

_Speak softly. Tread lightly. Strike flawlessly._

"…no."

_Speak softly. Tread lightly. Strike flawlessly._

"No one's going to miss them."

"….no."

_Speak softly. Tread lightly. Strike flawlessly._

"Least of all you."

"…."

_Speak softly. Tread lightly. Strike flawlessly._

Link felt his eyes begin to darken, what was the point in fighting anymore? Like Dark said, no one would miss them. He'd already killed thousands of creatures across the kingdom, what were three more? _But it's not right._

_Speak softly. Tread lightly. Strike flawlessly._

Link gripped his blade tightly. He had no recollection of having picked it up, but suddenly it felt right to grip the hilt, as it always did before a fight. _But this isn't a fight, this is murder._

"Shhhh." Dark was suddenly very close to him. When had he gotten that close? Come to think of it, when had his eyes been closed? He could have sworn they were open.

_Speak softly. Tread lightly. Strike flawlessly._

Link moved towards the door as if he were wearing his Hover Boots again. And he felt the darkness shroud him, he moved silently, no _lightly_.

"That's a good boy." Dark smirked as he faded into the swirls of darkness, and was gone.


	6. Ch 6: Nocturne of Shadow

**About the last chapter: I realized I forgot to explain that a requiem is a form of music usually composed for the dead. Hence, the Requiem of Spirit in LoZ OoT, and in reference to the chapter here, Link's losing to Dark. This chapter is called Nocturne of Shadow, which refers to both OoT as well as the the definition of a Nocturne which is a song composed to reflect a pensive dreamy mood...or a nightmare. :) Anyway Enjoy! **

Chapter 6: Nocturne of Shadow

Dazed wasn't the right word. Nor was bewitched, charmed, confused, enamored, forced, compelled, or any others. No the only word that could even come close to describing what Link was doing was, desire.

Not his own of course, but his other half's. And Link found himself weighed down with that overwhelming desire so much that it felt like it was his own. That made what he was about to do seem less…gruesome, less…horrific.

"Not that that's an excuse." Link thought gloomily before he felt his thoughts fade away again. There were only moments in between the darkness that swirled around his brain, small seconds when Link felt his real self, the Light side, rise up and gain a little control, only to be suffocated again by the darkness. He felt like he were drifting in the swirls of darkness around himself.

Link tread as lightly as he could as he made his way slowly down the hall, he wasn't sure where he was going, Dark hadn't bothered to mention any names. All he'd said was that the three had to be from "different walks of life," whatever that meant. Seriously, the guy had more twists in him than that stupid Water Temple Link had met him in the first time.

"My lord, Hero of Time?" Link looked up in mild surprise, mild being the extent of emotions he could muster up, to see Palace First Sergeant Reynolds. "Are you alright? Do you need something?" Reynolds took a cautionary step forward as Link drew back.

"Not at all Reynolds." The voice that slide out of Link's mouth was his own, only he knew it was really Dark who was forming the words, _speak softly._

"B-but sir, your chest, you're _bleeding_."

"Oh, yeah I forgot about that." Link thought as he looked down at his chest in feigned surprise. It didn't even sting. How odd that he'd forgot he was bleeding. Not that he could even remember where the wound had come from, the effort of recollection was too much.

"Are you sure you don't require a healer? I could go wake one for you—"

"Not at all, Reynolds," Link's gaze darkened a bit, and he felt time slow ever so slightly. _No Dark, not him._

_I don't remember asking your opinion Hero._

"I won't do it." Link thought at his other half as he felt his face smirk non-threateningly at the man, eyes dancing encouragingly.

_Fine. We'll do it your way then Hero._

"Reynolds, come a bit closer please." Link felt his right arm lift, beckoning the unsuspecting guard closer, a dark smirk playing about Link's lips. _You're such a liar._

Reynolds's suspicion deepened. "Sir, you're acting very strange. Are you sure you're alright? Shall I fetch Princess Zelda?"

"NO!" Link felt himself cry out. _Oh, nice Dark, I'm sure that reassured him._

Link waited, frozen in his position. What no sadistically sarcastic response from his Dark side? _Dark? You there?_

"Sir?" Link looked over at Reynolds, a genuine smile brimming on his subtle lips. Was Dark really gone? What had made him flee so easily? Link looked down at his right hand, where the Triforce of Courage was burning brightly. Its golden light was expanding like the dawn over Lake Hylia, reflecting off every smooth surface in the dark corridor. It crawled its way up the walls, it slid its way up Link's arm, his chest, his neck, his face.

"Sir! You—you're eyes, they're!"

Link looked quizzically at the retreating man, "What's wrong?"

Reynolds fell backwards in his haste. He made a grab for one of the wooden tables along the corridor's sides, and missed, knocking the table over as he hit the stone corridor. Link took a step forward towards Reynolds, arms open in an attempt at reassurance and comfort.

"What's the matter?" Link smiled happily at Reynolds, still unaware of what it was that had startled the poor man. _After all, Dark was gone right? He couldn't even feel the darkness in his head anymore!_

"D—demon! It's a demon! Help!" Reynolds crawled backwards across the floor as Link approached him.

"But it's not, Reynolds it's me, see?" Link reached out for Reynolds with his right hand, the one currently not holding his Master Sword.

"Please! I am your servant! You're servant!" Reynolds fell forward onto his knees, his bright eyes pleading. "Do not harm me master, I have always been your servant!"

"Master? Servant?" Link frowned, completely bewildered now.

"I still keep the old ways my lord! I knew you were one of our kind my lord! I knew!" Reynolds shuffled forward until he was close enough to grab Link's outstretched right hand in his and he held it close to his face in a show of admiration and affection. "The Hero of Time is a servant of the old ways! It's so fitting. I apologize for my earlier fear Master; I did not expect you to appear before one so lowly as me. Not since my lord Ganon was killed."

"Ganon?"

"Yes, you slew him. But now I see the reasoning! At first I was angry, we all were, but you had a plan all along." Reynolds looked up at Link adoringly. "You're Dark side is so breathtaking my lord."

The words slammed into Link so hard he felt the air leave his lungs as if he'd taken a hit to the chest with the Megaton Hammer. _His Dark Side?_

Link ripped his hand from Reynolds's grasp. He stumbled backwards, the words still reeling in his head. _Dark Side…servant…him._

"My Lord?" Reynolds looked confused as he watched Link grab his head in anguish. "My Lord?"

Link looked to his right where a small mirror hung from the wall, nothing like the ones they kept in the Hall of Mirrors near Zelda's private chambers, but it would do. Link ran over to it, fear and frustration warring their way through his insides like fire an ice, his soul was burning, _burning from the inside._

Link knew what he was going to see before he looked, but he had to look, he had to know, he had to be sure that there wasn't the tiniest chance that what Reynolds had said was wrong. What Link saw was worse than anything his nightmares had ever shown him, and there was no way that weeks of devilish dreams could prepare him for what looked back at him.

It was worse than looking at his Negative half, at least when Link looked into his reflection and saw Dark's smirk fluttering over his lips, he knew it was only temporary. Even the nightmares were like that, even when Dark had shown him what it would look like when his own face had Dark's eyes, somehow he'd known, that the image would end. Even the darkest of nightmares eventually ended, eventually there was the comfort of dawn, of light.

But this was different. This wasn't a nightmare. This wasn't a battle of wits with his other side. No, this was his greatest fear peering at him out from his own eyes, and it _wasn't going away._

"Sir?"

Link pulled back, his body shaking, from anger or fear he couldn't be sure. But there was one thing he was certain of, Reynolds was a traitor.

_So why not kill him?_

Link looked over at Reynolds, a dark smirk playing at his lips, unnoticeably slightly.

"Sir?" Reynolds smiled at him, a mixture of fear and longing dancing in his eyes. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes." Link moved forward, his eyes smiling, glittering as the light from his Triforce made the red in them dance. _Speak softly._"You can come to me, and be still."

Reynolds blushed slightly. Link's smirk darkened, was Dark that compelling? "I suppose he is." Link thought as Reynolds got to his feet and slowly made his way over. Link could feel the emotions in the room, the pride, the fear, the lust. Link's smirk almost dropped as the Triforce surged one more time. Link could feel his left hand tightening around the Master Sword's hilt, this no longer felt like murder, it felt like _justice_.

Reynolds stopped just short of Link's outstretched right arm, and Link leaned forward and grabbed Reynolds's arm, the Triforce of Courage practically begging him to kill this traitor, to protect the Light. Link snorted. _What Light?_

"S—sir."

Link moved a bit closer as he raised his left arm. "Shh." _Speak softly. Tread Lightly._

Link swung and Reynolds didn't even cry out, not that he could, with the Master Sword in his neck. _Strike flawlessly._

Link let Reynolds's body crumple to the floor, and he felt the power of the Triforce of Courage surge up his arm and expand his chest. If Navi had been hear he knew she'd have been buzzing around his head, clapping her little fairy hands, congratulating him on his defeat of the traitor. But it didn't feel like a victory, it felt like…

_Heh. Heh. What a blow! _

Link froze as he heard Dark's malicious laughter in his head. _So he'd been there all along._ _Figures._

_You wanted to do it your way Hero._

Link could feel the darkness begin to settle itself back in, but Link no longer worried. After all, he had two more chances left to figure out a way to beat Dark.


	7. Ch 7: Second Kill, Second Chance

Chapter 7: Second Kill, Second Chance

_I love it when you're frustrated._

Link ignored Dark's comment as he re-sheathed his Master Sword, now clean again after the blow he'd struck against Reynolds . The Triforce of Courage had darkened, but there was still the slightest smoldering to it, a healthy reassurance in all the darkness of the room, in Link.

_Well that's one down. Two to go, Hero!_

"You're entirely too happy about this." Link thought at his Dark half as he took a step over Reynolds's body and moved forward along the corridor. The soft glow of the moonlight was drifting like steam over the misty darkness that swirled around Link as he strode down the corridor's red silk carpet.

Dark was going on about something in his head, his voice playful and chipper, as if this whole situation was just one big game. Which Link supposed that to Dark, it probably was, making it even more apparent that Link had to detach his dark side as fast as possible.

_So you killed the traitor, so now we have to find our next victim._

Link spared a moment to distract his Dark side, "Is there any particular order or reasoning to these attacks? Or did you actually know that Reynolds was a traitor?"

_I knew. I know everything about everyone that ever came close to being in contact with Ganon. I was his dear servant remember?_

"What I _remember_ was you annoyingly attacking me in the Water Temple, using my own moves against me, and then killing you and hoping you'd never come back, but that didn't work out so well." Link felt a surge of rage in his heart, and knew that he'd struck a chord, a large one apparently.

_That was not my choice. If that stupid king had let me do it _my _way, I would have won._

"I'm sure." Link paused when he reached an intersection at the end of the corridor. Link was having trouble placing himself, but he was about ninety percent sure that the right would take him up towards the more elegant rooms and the west observatory, while the left would lead towards the more mainstream center of the castle. Link prayed they were going left. There was no way that he could ever bring himself to drive that blade through Zelda's heart, he'd kill himself first before he'd ever do that.

_Relax Hero, I want to be the one to extract your princess's heart from her royal chest, so no, we won't be going right._

Link let out a small sigh of relief as he felt his body turn and head towards the stairs at the end of another corridor that moved them towards the third floor, the floor below his own, and the rooms of lesser importance.

"So you never really answered my question Dark, are we killing in a particular order, or not?"

_We are. But I'm not telling you._

Link waited for more, but Dark seemed to be done speaking for now. So Link pushed himself as far away from Dark's presence in his head as he could, unfortunately that meant that he lost the forward control of his body, but it also meant that he could think his own thoughts without that darkness shading them into nothing.

Link had figured something out from his first killing. When Dark had let him go he'd realized that he'd had more control then he thought, in fact, he had most of the control the entire time, he was just too shrouded by that dark pressure pounding in his brain to realize it. So Link figured that, the next time he had to kill, Dark's presence in his mind would have to lessen, even if it was only a little, in order for Link to strike the person down. And when Link felt that power lessen, he hoped, no he was _certain_, that the Triforce of Courage's glow would ignite the light that still dwindled within him.

Link mentally frowned. The plan that was forming in his head wasn't a good one, and it gave Dark plenty of time to regain control, probably too much, but hopefully his actions would have the desired effect on _Dark's mind_, clouding his for a change. Link's mental frown deepened, no, it defiantly wasn't a good plan, it wasn't even a mediocre one, but it was all he had to go on. But if it failed, Link shuddered, Link didn't want to think about that.

_Hero, what are you doing in there?_

Link mentally checked himself before allowing his conscious to swim back up into the darkness at the forefront of his mind. "Nothing." He thought at Dark, but he was smart enough to realize that Dark wasn't going to buy that.

_I'm sure. In my experience, no one has ever done "_nothing"_ without a_ reason_._

"Well say hello to the first honest person you ever met then Dark." Link realized that more time then he'd thought had elapsed while he had been busy planning. They had made their way past the third floor to the second, where some servants' corridors and some rooms, like the library and the common area studies, were located. Why was Link bringing him here?

_Time to take the second life Hero, hope you're ready._

"I'm never ready for murder, Dark." Link thought angrily at his other half as he moved towards the servant corridors. He turned towards the hallway where the women slept, or were supposed to sleep anyway. Link felt his heart quicken. "A defenseless _woman_ Dark? That's low even for you."

_Don't be such a goddess loving goody-goody._

"Don't be such a darkness-loving demon."

_Where I come from, that's a compliment, not an insult._

Link chose not to respond to that. He moved his way up to a door on the left side of one of the small mini-corridors that made up the servants wing on the second floor. Once close to it, he felt Dark's presence die down a bit, but not enough yet. So Link knocked on the door lightly, _speak softly._

"Ya? 'ho's there?" Link recognized that voice.

"It's the Hero of Time." Link's voice felt like liquid, it poured from his lips in much the same way that one might envision candlelight oil sliding down the side of a glass lantern. "I've come to improve your night."

Link heard hastened shuffling and he barely had time to lean back from the door before he felt it fling open in more speed then he imagined possible for a woman of her stature.

"Oh, 'oney! I'ew you'd come!" The woman grabbed Link by his right hand and half-yanked, half-dragged him into the room. "I just 'ew! You have no need to worry, 'oney." She leaned in to Link and Link felt the disgust swirling in his mask of a smirk, "I'm gentle."

_Ha! Ha! HA! Looks like someone has an _admirer.

Link ignored Dark's comment. If his plan was to work, he had to detach himself as much as possible from his dark side. _I cannot dwell on him. The more I think on Dark, the stronger his hold will become._ Link wasn't sure where he'd heard that, but somehow it seemed very important, almost as important as the small glow that was slithering its way up his arm as his Triforce piece welcomed the chance to rid the world of this lustful woman.

_Not going to answer me Hero? That's fine, I'll let you two be alone._

Link could taste the smirk in that comment, but he ignored it. He waited as the woman continued to whisper what he was certain she thought were seductive come-ons, but his concentration was on his right hand. He could feel the darkness in his mind retreating back into the corners, and as it did, he could see the glow from his Triforce of Courage shimmering in the gloom of the servant woman's room like a light arrow in the Lost Woods. Finally, he felt the control return to his limbs, he felt himself as himself again, although he knew he probably still looked like Dark, but that was easily avoidable, there were no mirrors in here.

"What's the 'atter 'oney?" The kitchen woman leaned in, "Nervous?"

"Not at all." Link felt the Tricorce surge, and he shoved the woman onto her bed.

"Oh, my! 'Ou are forward aren't ya?"

"Not at all." Link smirked, a genuine smirk of his own choosing, and he turned quickly on his feet and rushed for the open door as fast as he could.

It didn't take long for the darkness to begin trying to pick its way back in, but Link set up a mental barrier in his mind, an attempt to hold off Dark's control as long as possible. He rushed out of the servants corridors and headed straight towards the common area rooms.

_What _are you doing_ Hero?_

Link felt Dark's angry screech in his head as he propelled himself forward, each second requiring double the effort the last one had taken.

_Get back there and _kill_ that woman!_

He wasn't sure how he knew. He wasn't sure why. But all he knew was that at the end of the corridor, in the largest section of the palace's library, was where Hestial was standing. And Link couldn't be sure how or why he knew, but he did know, that she was waiting for him.


	8. Ch 8: Dark

Chapter 8: Dark

_What _are you doing_ Hero?_

Link felt Dark's angry screech in his head as he propelled himself forward, each second requiring double the effort the last one had taken.

_Get back there and _kill _that woman!_

He wasn't sure how he knew. He wasn't sure why. But all he knew was that at the end of the corridor, in the largest section of the palace's library, was where Hestial was standing. And Link couldn't be sure how or why he knew, but he did know, that she was waiting for him, and she wasn't alone.

_KILL HER!_

Link resisted the urge to respond and he felt his body slow, breaking down as he continued to push it past all levels of resolve, his insides quaking as if he were repeatedly running into a brick wall.

But he was almost there, he was within reach of his goal. His Triforce was glowing, Dark's voice in his head was screaming, but all Link could see, all he made himself see, was that open door ahead of him where the soft glow of a deadening fire could be seen flicking itself across stacks and stacks of books and scrolls.

_Do not defy me._

Link felt it then, it was unmistakable. Link's body, both mental and physical, slammed into a wall. It was a wall of darkness, it appeared like a haze, but Link knew it wasn't, it was something else. Link fell backwards as his insides rocked, he was sure he'd heard something crack.

"Why do you insist on resisting me?" Link looked up to see Dark, his eyes like liquid fire, only without the reassurance and the warmth. His body was misty, almost as if it were caught somewhere between nowhere, and here. Link saw the muscles tighten in his Negative side's arms, saw him lift his hand and recreate his dark replica of the Master Sword. Link swallowed.

"I cannot allow you to enter that room Hero. So, you have two choices. You can either get up, turn around, and finish what we started, or, you can try another half-witted and feeble attempt at freedom." Dark flicked his blade so that it pointed itself directly at Link's heart. "Decide."

Link swallowed the fear and pain in his throat, and pulled himself up to his feet. His body wavered with the effort, pieces of it undoubtedly broken. But Link refused to back down, not this time. This time, he would win.

"I'd like to think you chose the first option, but I'm not that deluded." Dark swung his blade up and back, readying himself to fight.

Link unhinged his own Master Sword from his back, feeling his muscles popping and his ribs cracking as he bit his bottom lip to prevent crying out in pain. Dark laughed.

"Wow Hero, I can hear that from over here. You must be a real mess right now." Dark smirked openly at his Light side, as he bent and moved to strike, "Let me end your pain."

"No, let _me_ end _yours_." Link prepared himself as he felt Dark's blade hit his own, the attack sudden and predictable. It was the same opening Link used, a left side swing to the hip. Link received the blow and shoved Dark off, before taking one of his own. Dark anticipated the move perfectly, and the two ended up in the same position, only in reverse.

"Why do you even bother? We're perfectly matched." Dark swung at Link again, and Link retaliated the blow. The two stood there, locked together, their twin Master Swords scrapping each other in an effort to gain ground, but neither prevailed. Neither ever would.

Dark smirked at his Light side, "The only way you'll ever beat me is if you can rid yourself of all the darkness in your heart, but we both know that's an impossibility."

Link glared at his Dark half, he could feel the misty waves of darkness as they slid their way up his body, clawing at his sub-conscious. Link refused, he refused with his entire mind, his entire body, his entire heart. But he was very tired, and he could now feel the physical effects of his damaged body, Dark had certainly broken it.

"Why not strike when I say? I don't see why you feel this need to fight me so dauntingly." Dark lowered his blade, and backed away from his fairer half. Link looked at him, a mixture of bewilderment and suspicion, what was he up to?

"I wouldn't kill you, you know. It's not worthwhile, a total waste of your talents." Dark waved his blade and it disappeared, fading back into the unyielding gloom that filled his end of the corridor, and was slowly inching its way across towards Link. "I never planned on killing _you_."

Link held his sword up defensively in front of his face. "Your tricks won't work Dark, so just give it up already."

"I'm not lying." Dark spread his arms wide, as if he weren't trying to coerce his Light side, but rather welcoming a long lost friend. "This is what I want."

"Forget it!" Link could feel the shimmering of his Triforce waging a war with the darkness that sputtered as the light hit it. Link took a step forward, "Move Dark, or I'll cut a path right through you."

Dark ignored the comment and kept right on talking. "I only ever wanted what was never mine to have, only ever wanted what you got the pleasure of having just because everyone sees you as the Hero." Dark's face turned into a nasty scowl, his steely skin darkening a bit in his anger, "And me as the villain."

Link froze.

" All I was ever dealt was the bad hand, the darkness, the negative emotions that wage inside of you, tell me, how is that fair?" Dark leaned forward; his hands still outstretched signifying his determination, his desire, and his total lack of understanding at what separated him so much from someone who was so like him that he could never best him. Link realized then what Dark saw through those glittering eyes every moment he was conscious, Dark was jealous.

Dark stood up straighter, peering out at Link through one eye just as he had that first night Link had been reunited with his other half, back when this whole mess began. Link lowered his blade.

"We can still do this together Link." Dark smirked at Link reassuringly, with only a hint of his usual malice playing about his lips, "Think what we could do, once all this," Dark indicated the surrounding castle, "and all that," he pointed outside indicating Hyrule, "is _ours_."

_Link. Do not let him corrupt your soul._

Link started. Who?

_He is trying to corrupt you, he seeks to regain control and nothing more, you cannot trust him._

"Link." Link looked up. Dark had moved closer, his hand was outstretched, reaching for Link. Link felt the fingers touch his skin, grasping his hand, their touch cold as death. "Brother, won't you help me be free too?"

Link opened his mouth, he felt torn. Torn between doing what he knew to be right, and his connection with Dark. Because Dark was many things, not the least being dishonest, but he was still part of Link, part of his mind, part of his soul, part of his _heart_.

_Link! Hurry!_

"I'm sorry." Link pulled himself from Dark's grasp, and instantly felt the pressure from the darkness double, like all of the weight of Death Mountain was being dropped on him at once. But Link didn't wait for Dark to respond, he raced past him, hitting the darkness like a solid wall. Link felt his body crying out, his bones felt like they were being ripped apart, his skin breaking, he smelled the scent of blood. But Link powered through.


	9. Ch 9: Light

Chapter 9: Light

_I am the bringer of the Dawn._

"Link stop this!" Dark cried out at Link, as Link continued to try to power his way through that slowly cracking wall of negativity and nothing. Link ignored the cries of his darker side, he thought only of Hestial, of Navi, of Zelda and the light that surely glowed from them. Link knew that he was close to achieving that light, close to finally being free of this monster of himself.

_I am the servant of Light. _

"Just think about it, just for a moment!" Dark grabbed at him. He felt like he was everywhere all at once. Link could see his glittering eyes in every crack of dark that he shattered through in his attempts. He could see his face in every sliver of moonlight that broke its way through the mist of darkness and nothing. He had to do this, had to break through, for them.

_I am the servant of the Triforce._

"You owe them nothing! What about me? I am you!" Dark's cries become more and more desperate; betraying the coolness Link was so used to hearing in his voice. Link reached forward, he could see the doors again, see the fire's light, he was _almost there_.

"Why? Why not me?" Dark screeched in Link's head, and Link could feel the anger, the frustration, the absolute desperation ripping right through his heart and his soul. It felt like his soul was on fire, burning from the inside. Link could feel it in every pore of his skin, the hatred, the jealousy, the absolute terror at being returned to the Realm of Nothing.

_I am the wielder of the Light._

"Don't you_ dare_ send me back there! I won't go! I _won't_!" Link heard Dark's cries all around him, they blasted in his ears, they resounded in his mind, Dark was everywhere, everywhere and anywhere that Link was, because they were the same. Link continued to shove his way through, his piece of the Triforce surging, growing stronger with each slow and steady step that he took. He was so close; he could feel it.

_I am the servant of the sacred three goddesses, Din, Farore, and Nayru._

Link reached his hand forward clawing the last remaining layers of suffocating darkness as desperately and effectively as he could. He could see the light clearly know, he could feel the air, and he was so close, so close.

"Didn't you ever wonder Link?" Link tried to ignore Dark, but his voice sounded so lonely, so pitiful, so decidedly un-Dark, that he couldn't help it, he looked back over his shoulder, pausing only for a moment. Link saw Dark sitting there, no not sitting, floating. Mostly he was mist; his body fading into the nothingness that held him back from the light, from the goodness that was within Link's reach.

It was the first time Link thought of Dark not _being _the darkness, but _being held_ by it.

"Didn't you ever wonder what it would be like, if I had been the Hero?"

Link froze.

_Be gone forces of Darkness. _

"What would that have been like, I wonder. Would I have been the one to kill Ganon? Would you be the one trying to corrupt me?"

Link turned away from Dark, and began to move forward. He could feel the negative emotions, all the negative emotions, which he had ever felt all at once. They were stinging as the hit him on all sides, overloading his brain until he had to mentally push them back in order to keep from feeling all those emotions at once. Link wanted to say something that would make Dark not feel that way, to reassure him. But Link wasn't Dark, he couldn't lie.

"But that will never happen Dark. It's because you're the villain that it never will. You're not the hero Dark, and you'll never be." Link put on one final burst of speed and determination and powered his way through the last remaining shadows of darkness. The edges broke as if they had been mere twigs, the real battle had already ended.

Link had won.

_Link! Hurry now; he is not yet completely beaten._

Link ran forward as fast as his damaged body could carry him. He ran past the stacks of books and scrolls. He ran past the smolders of fire that still played at a few remaining logs as they fizzled and cracked. Link ran until he could see them, Zelda and Hestial standing there, a weird contraception in between them.

"Link!" Navi buzzed upwards in happiness and worry, "Oh Link I was so—"

"Navi! Not yet!" Zelda cried, her voice ringing in tones that proved once again why she was the ruler of Hyrule.

"Link. Come here." Hestial spoke softly, and she extended her arm indicating that Link should take it. Link clasped her left hand in his right, and he felt his Triforce of Courage hum almost happily at the connection.

"Link. We must seal your dark side, are you prepared for the pain?"

Link gave Hestial a reassuring smile, "I don't think I'm capable of feeling much more at this point."

Hestial returned the smile with one of her own. "Then the princess and I shall begin."

Hestial escorted Link to a circle that had been etched into the ground with what looked like Death Mountain dirt, it was red anyway. Once he was situated at the center, she and Zelda stood opposite each other, with Hestial facing Link's front, and Zelda his rear.

Link watched as they begin to mouth words he couldn't understand. They must have been speaking some old form of Hylain, or else something even older. Link watched as a small mirror, no larger than the size of a plate, lifted itself up from a nearby table and flung itself at Link. He flinched.

But the mirror stopped just short of Link's face. Link glanced up, and saw himself reflected in its icy depths. Link looked like himself, mostly, the only difference was that his eyes were red, ever darkening and lightening as Dark's did, and he could see that smirk playing at his lips, unnoticeably slightly trying to win.

_Aren't we beautiful?_

Link heard Dark's voice in his head, it seemed so pleasant, so reassuring, so completely non-threatening. It was as if all that made up Link, made up that voice too, since they were the same.

"Dark…"

_I know. I know. You're sorry. Damn you're such a goddess loving goody-goody._

Link was about to respond when he felt Dark's presence being literally ripped from him. He felt like his skull was collapsing, and he could feel Dark clawing at his mind, trying desperately to hold on, to do anything and everything to escape his inevitable fate.

Link watched, as the face that looked back at him became cooler, more like steel. He watched the hair fade to feathery whisps of silver. He saw the darkness swirling around Dark's face. The last thing Link saw before he fell backwards in a much anticipated faint, was Dark's eyes, shimmering the deep red they would always be, lifeless.

Link closed his eyes. He was free.

_Be gone forces of Darkness. _

_You have no power here._


	10. Ch 10: Epilogue and Conclusions

Chapter 10: Epilogue and Conclusions

_Dark_

Dark had never been so frustrated in his entire life. How had this happened? He'd been so careful, so exact. He'd thought his way through every conceivable aspect and turn possible, and yet that stupid Hero of Time had bested him. _Again_!

Dark growled deep in his throat. It was a guttural sound, full of anger and malice. It was utterly unmistakably inhuman in its tones, a cry only a being of darkness and shadow could make.

"Link." He thought wickedly, so the Hero still had some tricks up his heroic green sleeves did he? Fine. Next time the dice were tossed, Dark would make doubly sure they rolled in his favor.

Dark smirked in the darkness that surrounded him. They'd sealed him in a sealing mirror, sure it was old magic, but he highly doubted the princess and her sage's apprentice were capable of wielding it correctly. In fact, Dark was almost certain that given the right amount of time, and the right amount of dedication, he could free himself from this would-be cage, and return in what would be, assuredly, his own form.

Dark leaned lazily back, as if he were lounging on a couch instead of floating in the misty waves of his own darkness. Yes, give it time, Reynolds wasn't the only one in that palace who still wished for Ganon's return, and if they thought releasing Dark was the best way to do it, all the better for him.

_Link_

Link smiled at Zelda. His eyes dancing with tones of deep blue and glinting of red. The swirls of color were a lasting sign of his battle with Dark, but Hestial had promised that the red would fade with time.

Zelda grasped Link's right hand firmly in her own, making their two Triforce pieces shimmer and dance, courage and wisdom. Link smiled warmly at Zelda, and he felt her eyes gaze warmly at him too. She leaned in and laid her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes as the soft trickles of sunlight ran their way up her face, and made her golden hair shine even brighter.

Link squeezed her hand tightly. He didn't want to let her go, at least not for now. Link knew Zelda didn't love him, and he was pretty sure he didn't love her either, at least not like that. She was his great friend, his only family, and that was something worth holding onto.

_Hestial_

Hestial breathed deeply in the scents of the daylight. Most people couldn't smell them, being so caught up with life in the light that they forgot to live. Hestial hadn't.

She moved slowly towards the Magnolia tree in one of Hyrule Castle's many side courtyard gardens. She loved Magnolias, though she couldn't be sure why. They were a rare flower in Hyrule and even rarer in the Gerudo dessert of her homeland, meaning that the tree was undoubtedly a gift from a neighboring kingdom. More than likely a rich suitor's whispering in Princess Zelda's ear.

Not that Hestial cared, now that things were alright again, Hestial could spare a moment for her beloved light, and for the sweet smell of the blooms of the Magnolia.

**The End. For Now.**

**I am debating writing a sequel to this story, which is why I left some things open-ended. Dark is just such a fun character to write, and I can't help but love torturing poor Link (I really do love Link I swear!) **

**If you want another story, please review. I am already thinking of ways I could take this, and if there were to be a sequel, it would most defiantly be more Dark-based. (Which is never a bad thing)**

**I would also like to ask any of the artists out there if they would humor me and draw a scene (preferably Dark and Link interacting) from my story and link (heehee) me to it? I am a horrible artist, but I would love to see your art! You can send it to me by linking me in a private message here, or if you post it on Deviantart, then you can just message me on there, (a link to my da, youtube, and twitter accounts are in my profile.)**

**Ok! That's it, thank you all for following!**

**And thank you all for reading. :D**


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